U.S. patent number 5,319,939 [Application Number 08/001,733] was granted by the patent office on 1994-06-14 for frozen food storage and dispensing system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Gas Research Institute. Invention is credited to Kevin P. Barnes, Richard N. Caron, John M. Collins, Robert Farra, Joop F. Hoekstra, Thomas P. Hosmer, David H. McFadden.
United States Patent |
5,319,939 |
McFadden , et al. |
June 14, 1994 |
Frozen food storage and dispensing system
Abstract
A system for and method of storing and automatically dispensing
predetermined amounts of one or more food products from closed
containers is described. The system preferably includes
multi-compartment containers carried by a carrousel assembly and
moved by a dispensing mechanism for automatically selecting the
appropriate container and compartment for which food is dispensed.
By using a control with memory for keeping inventory, the system
can dispense any one of several food products on demand.
Inventors: |
McFadden; David H. (Lexington,
MA), Caron; Richard N. (Dorchester, MA), Collins; John
M. (Ipswich, MA), Farra; Robert (Leminster, MA),
Barnes; Kevin P. (Stoneham, MA), Hoekstra; Joop F.
(Medfield, MA), Hosmer; Thomas P. (Concord, MA) |
Assignee: |
Gas Research Institute
(Chicago, IL)
|
Family
ID: |
27412754 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/001,733 |
Filed: |
January 7, 1993 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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831110 |
Feb 4, 1992 |
5224415 |
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759606 |
Sep 13, 1991 |
5142968 |
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458982 |
Dec 29, 1989 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
62/63; 34/500;
414/404; 62/382; 99/404 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J
37/1228 (20130101); F25D 13/06 (20130101); F25B
5/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47J
37/12 (20060101); F25D 13/00 (20060101); F25D
13/06 (20060101); F25B 5/04 (20060101); F25B
5/00 (20060101); F25D 025/02 (); B65B 021/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;62/63,382 ;99/404,427
;221/82,15R ;414/404 ;34/31 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wayner; William E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lappin & Kusmer
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
07/831,110, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,415 filed Feb. 4, 1992, and
which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
07/759,606, filed Sep. 13, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,968 filed
in the names of Richard N. Caron, David H. McFadden, John M.
Collins, and John Dieckman, which application is a continuation of
U.S. patent application Ser. No, 07/458,982, filed Dec. 29, 1989,
filed in the names of the same inventors and now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is: PG,30
1. A method of storing and dispensing preselected amounts of frozen
food, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) filling a container having an open end with an amount of frozen
food at a loading location, closing the open end of said container,
and placing said container open end up on a vertical conveyor
inside a freezer compartment;
(b) operating said conveyor so as to invert said container and
position it adjacent an aperture in a wall of said freezer
compartment;
(c) moving at least a portion of said inverted container over said
aperture while also uncovering the open end of said portion
permitting said amount to empty by action of gravity; and,
(d) moving said inverted container back onto said conveyor and
operating said conveyor so as to return said container to an open
end up position at said loading location.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the top end of a delivery chute
is positioned adjacent said aperture to receive said frozen food,
and said method further includes the step of moving a fry basket to
a position below the bottom end of said delivery chute so as to
receive said frozen food.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to frozen food storage and
dispensing systems, and more particularly to an automated system
for dispensing individual portions of one or a variety of frozen
food products for use in conjunction with an automated deep fat
fryer.
Generally, even though fryers are now available for cooking such
food stuffs as french fries under computer controlled conditions,
the operation used in most fast food chain restaurants uses manual
labor to carry out a large part of the operation. In the typical
operation, frying baskets are manually filled with pre-cut,
partially cooked (parfried) strips of potatoes away from the fryer,
and subsequently loaded onto a slack rack. When the operator wishes
to cook the potatoes, a basket is manually removed from the slack
rack and inserted into the basket lift arm of the fryer. The start
button is pressed on the computer controlled fryer, and the basket
lift arm lowers the basket into the preheated shortening. About
thirty seconds into the cook, the operator usually manually raises
the basket slightly and shakes it to break up strips of potatoes
which may be stuck together. At the end of the cook cycle, the
baskets are automatically raised by the lift arm out of the
shortening. The baskets are then allowed to remain in a position
above the fryer so that excess oil will drip back into the fryer.
If done correctly, the basket is moderately shaken by the operator
to remove as much oil as possible, and then manually removed from
the lift arm. The french fried potatoes are then manually brought
to a holding station, and emptied in the holding station. In the
holding station, the fries are manually salted and packaged using a
fry scoop. The current practice is to hold the french fries
unpackaged for up to 7 minutes and package them to order. Unsalted
orders generally require cooking to order. A typical store using
two adjacent fryers at a fry station will cook 100 lbs/day, which
represents approximately 60-100 baskets of french fries.
Next to food costs, direct labor currently represents the largest
operating cost component of this deep fat frying operation,
currently accounting for approximately 21% of the total operating
cost. Furthermore, fry station workers are becoming increasingly
difficult to recruit since the segment of the work force willing to
work in the hot, grease-laden environment of fast food restaurants
is currently steadily declining, especially in the Northeast
portion of the United States.
There is an increased interest therefore in automating deep fat
frying operations by automating material handling and production
control so as to (1) minimize the impact of crew member shortage,
(2) reduce labor cost, occupational hazards and associated
liabilities, and (3) improve the fried product consistency. Recent
advances in computer-controlled operation of deep fat fryers have
been limited in their utility, however, by the need for an
automated frozen food storage and dispensing system capable of
operating in conjunction with the frying apparatus. Such a system
must be capable of maintaining the food product in a frozen state
until almost immediately prior to cooking, of repeatably and
reliably delivering a predetermined quantity of food product to a
fry basket as needed, and of being quickly and easily accessed for
periodic refilling and cleaning. It is especially desirable that
such a system be capable of accommodating and delivering on demand
a variety of different frozen food products to different fry
baskets.
In general, the prior art shows a variety of apparatuses for
storing, conveying and dispensing food and non-food products in
individualized containers or boxes. Several of these prior art
patents show conveyors in various configurations and orientations.
Several of the prior art patents also show the combination of a
conveyor apparatus and a freezer or refrigeration compartment.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,804 (Bardy et al.) teaches an
automatic food storage and dispensing apparatus in which food
portions are held in open pans or trays seated on hinged shelves on
two spaced, parallel vertical conveyors positioned inside a
temperature-controlled cabinet. At col. 2, lines 19-24, the Bardy
et al. patent explains the intended use of the patented apparatus
as follows: "One of the uses for which the presently disclosed
apparatus has been specially developed is the refrigerated storage
and dispensing of foods which are to be fried and placed on trays
in a completely automated process. Examples of goods which are
typically fried are: chicken, fish, shrimp, onion rings and
potatoes." In the Bardy et al. patent, food is dispensed by sliding
a food-carrying tray down an incline to a horizontal conveyor that,
in turn, carries the tray to a "tray dumping mechanism," (col. 2,
lines 61-62).
The complex Bardy et al. system, however, involving multiple
conveyors and sliding trays, would be difficult and costly to
control and maintain in practice. The combination of numerous
different moving parts and the likelihood of contamination and
frequent spillage from the open food trays while they are on the
vertical or horizontal conveyors or while sliding from the cabinet
to the horizontal conveyor virtually guarantees unsanitary and
unsightly operating conditions and frequent down times for
cleaning. Indeed, even in the absence of any spillage, the open
food storage trays of Bardy et al. represent unacceptable sanitary
conditions under modern health codes. Moreover, after "dumping"
each food tray must be recovered, cleaned, refilled, and reloaded
on one of the vertical conveyors, a costly and labor-intensive
procedure. Reusing the food trays of Bardy et al. without cleaning
them would compromise sanitary conditions because the trays are
removed from the protection of the cabinet and exposed to various
environmental contaminants while moving from the cabinet to the
tray dumping position.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,497,219 (Haumann) describes a coin-operated vending
machine "adapted to vend frozen articles such as ice cream bars and
the like," (col. 1, lines 1-4). The apparatus comprises a freezer
compartment and a continuous vertical conveyor having a plurality
of receiving pockets for storing the ice cream bars (FIG. 5). The
apparatus also includes an ejection/dispensing system whereby an
ejection arm pushes each ice cream bar out of its receiving pocket
and over the upper edge of an inclined discharge passage (FIGS. 6,
7 and 11). The ice cream bar slides down the discharge passage
(numeral 73 in FIG. 11), out through door 74, and into discharge
tray 77.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,432 (Hoeberigs) is directed to a coin-operated
automatic vending machine for cooked or fried foods such as
french-fried potatoes. The Hoeberigs apparatus comprises a cooled
food storage compartment housing a continuous vertical conveyor
that carries a series of 4-compartment food holders (FIGS. 1 and
2). The food holders are designed to freely hang so as to be
rotatable about a horizontal axis so as to be capable of a tipping
movement (FIG. 4) which results in emptying the contents of a
holder into a 4-compartment funnel (FIG. 1, reference numeral 35)
and thence along a guide surface (reference numerals 52 and 53)
which directs the respective food products into a frying basket
(reference numeral 54). An earlier version of this invention is
shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,398,672 (Hoeberigs) wherein food
containers carried on a continuous vertical conveyor can be tipped
so as to pour the food product into a ladle by action of gravity.
The pivotally-mounted ladle then descends into a cooking
cauldron.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,804,982 (Verrinder); 3,779,410 (Phillips et al.);
3,315,785 (Shiffer); and 4,979,864 (Cahlander et al.) show the
general concept of tipping or inverting a box or container in order
to empty the contents thereof by action of gravity. For example,
Phillips et al. is directed to a machine for automatically
unloading chewing gum base materials from cooling pans as the pans
move along a horizontal conveyor. A filled pan is propelled out of
the conveyor where it is inverted, lifted and vibrated to separate
the gum base from the pan.
None of the aforementioned prior art patents, however, teaches a
system intended for or capable of use as an automated frozen food
storage and dispensing system consistent with modern sanitation
requirements, efficiency and flexibility of operation and
labor-saving needs, and compatible with computer-controlled
automated frying systems (such as the one described in pending
parent application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/759,606,
filed in the names of Richard N. Caron, David H. McFadden, John M.
Collins, and John Dieckman, which application is a continuation of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/458,982, filed in the names of
the same inventors and now abandoned), both applications being
described hereinafter as the "Prior Applications". More
particularly, none of the aforementioned prior art patents teaches
an automated frozen food dispenser which, when operated as part of
an automated, integrated frying system, can quickly and easily
respond, with a minimum of manual labor, to the normal ebb and flow
of business during the course of a day at a modern fast food
restaurant. These and other problems with and limitations of the
prior art are overcome with the frozen food dispensing freezer of
this invention.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to overcome
or substantially reduce the above-noted problems with and
limitations of the prior art.
Specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a method
of and apparatus for storing and automatically dispensing portions
of a frozen food product in conjunction with the operation of an
automated deep fat fryer system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of
and apparatus for storing and automatically dispensing portions of
a frozen food product that meet modern health and sanitation
requirements.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of
and apparatus for storing and automatically dispensing as needed
preselected portions of any one of a plurality of different frozen
food products.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an
automatic frozen food dispensing freezer having a minimum of moving
parts with easily accessible interior regions and operating
mechanisms for ease of reloading the food compartments and for
cleaning the apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to minimize or at least
substantially reduce the labor costs associated with deep fat
cooking operations, especially in a fast-food restaurant.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a
higher quality fried food product by means of superior storage,
dispensing and handling of the food product as described
herein.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an
automated frozen food dispenser which, when utilized as part of an
automated, integrated frying system, is capable of operating based
on point of sales information and daily business cycles.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in
part appear hereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises the
processes involving the several steps and the relation and order of
one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and
the apparatus possessing the construction, combination of elements,
and arrangement of parts exemplified in the following detailed
disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be
indicated in the claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The frozen food storage and dispensing system of the preferred
embodiment of this invention broadly comprises food product boxes
or containers filled with the same or different frozen food
product(s). Each container contains one or a plurality of
compartments, each compartment having a hinged cover which remains
closed so as to virtually seal the compartment until the food is
dispensed so as to prevent contamination. The containers are
supported by a continuous carrousel assembly or conveyor to hold
and move the containers inside a freezer unit. As a particular
filled container passes over the top of the conveyor, the container
is inverted and moves into a dispensing location. A dispensing
mechanism positioned at the dispensing location moves the container
containing a predetermined amount of a desired food product
relative to the carousel assembly so as to successively and
selectively index each compartment of the container over a
transport or discharge chute. As each compartment of a container is
moved to a dispensing position at the dispensing location, the
hinged cover of the compartment opens thereby permitting the frozen
food product inside that compartment to fall by gravity feed
through the chute which conveys the product to a waiting fryer
basket for cooking. In a similar fashion, additional compartments
of the same food product container can be indexed over the chute
and thereby successively emptied into corresponding fryer baskets.
When all compartments of the food product container have thus been
emptied, the empty container is retracted back onto the carousel
assembly permitting a new filled container to be positioned at the
dispensing location. Alternatively, the compartments of different
containers can be successively used to dispense different products
in a predetermined sequence depending on demand. A control which
maintains an inventory of the products remaining in the containers
within the system can be used to locate and dispense a particular
product where several products are stored add dispensed from the
system. The apparatus has the advantages of permitting loading or
filling of containers at waist-height, dispensing from an elevated
height to facilitate a gravity feed, and permitting extended
storage of frozen foods in the freezer compartment, with minimum
exposure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the present
invention, reference should be had to the following detailed
description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially cut away, of the frozen
food storage and dispensing freezer of the present invention shown
in combination with an automated deep fat fryer;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view, of the preferred embodiment of the
carrousel assembly of the storage and dispensing system of the
freezer;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred multi-compartment
container used to store predetermined amounts of frozen food in the
storage and dispensing system of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view looking upwardly at the
multi-compartment container positioned on a support shelf of the
carrousel assembly and moved to an intermediate position so as to
show two opened trap doors and the respective empty compartments of
the container;
FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the
support shelf with the container disposed in a retracted position
so that it can be easily indexed through the loading and dispensing
locations by the carrousel assembly;
FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the
support shelf with the container disposed at an intermediate
position so that several trap doors have opened and the respective
compartments emptied;
FIG. 7 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view, in a direction
normal to the view shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, through the support
shelf;
FIG. 8 shows a partial side perspective view of the carrousel
assembly with a container moving into the dispensing location;
FIG. 9 shows a side view of the carrousel assembly, with portions
omitted, showing a container in the dispensing location disposed
within the dispensing mechanism, with the dispensing chute and trap
door through which food product is dispensed being shown in phantom
and a basket positioned at the loading station shown in the
foreground;
FIG. 10 shows a top perspective view of the container position,
partially cut away, with a container positioned within the
dispensing mechanism;
FIG. 11 shows a side view of the preferred embodiment of the
dispensing mechanism;
FIG. 12 shows a side view of the sensing portion of the indexing
system for identifying the container that is disposed in the
dispensing location;
FIG. 13 shows a side view of the sensing portion of the indexing
system shown in FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 shows a guide system for insuring the proper alignment of
the container as it moves into and is positioned at the dispensing
location; and
FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a control system for controlling and
monitoring the positioning of each container and each compartment
of each container with respect to the dispensing of one or more
food products as well as maintaining an inventory of the remaining
food products held by the containers and an indication of their
respective locations by compartment and container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings the same numerals are used to designate the same or
similar parts.
Referring to FIG. 1, the frozen food storage and dispensing freezer
system of the present invention, generally indicated at 50, is
shown in combination with an automated deep fat fryer system 20, of
the type shown and described in the Prior Applications. In general,
the system 20 includes a plurality of independent fryer stations or
frypots 22 for containing hot oil for deep fry cooking of food in
predetermined amounts as described in the Prior Applications. The
fryer system 20 also includes a loading station indicated generally
at 24, a horizontal transport assembly generally indicated at 26, a
plurality of vertical transport assemblies 28, and a receiving
station 30. In general, the fryer system 20 operates automatically
by moving any one of several frying baskets 32 with the horizontal
transport assembly among (a) a loading station 24, where a
predetermined amount of food can be dispensed from the storage and
freezer system 50 into a basket shown at 32a in a manner to be
described in greater detail hereinafter, (b) a transfer position
for each of the vertical transport assemblies 28 so that a basket
can be transferred between the horizontal transport and each of the
vertical transports and (c) a receiving station 30 where cooked
food product can be unloaded from a basket after its contents have
been cooked in one of the frying stations 22. Each vertical
transport assembly 28 is adapted to receive a basket held by the
horizontal assembly 26 at the corresponding transfer position of
that vertical transport, and lower the basket into the oil of the
respective frypot 22 where the cooking is controlled by the
computerized system forming a part of the frypot which is a
commercially available unit. After cooking, each vertical transport
assembly 28 is adapted to first lift the basket from the hot oil
where the excess oil is allowed to drip down into the frypot, and
then lift the basket up to the transfer position so that the basket
and its load can be transferred back to the horizontal transport
assembly. The basket is then moved by the horizontal transport
assembly 26 to the receiving station 30. As will be apparent
hereinafter a proximity sensor 34 (see FIG. 9) is provided for
sensing when a basket 32a is properly positioned within the loading
station 24. The specific details of the frying system are described
in greater detail in the Prior Applications, which details are
incorporated herein by reference.
The frozen food storage and dispensing freezer system 50 includes a
refrigeration housing, shown in phantom at 52 and suitably made
with sufficient thermal insulation 55 (seen in FIG. 9) so as to
preserve a presettable cold temperature within the freezer space 54
defined by the housing. The housing 52 is provided with a front
door 56 cooperative with the door opening 58. When door 56 is
closed the freezer space 54 is suitably sealed around the door
opening in a well known manner. The door opening 58 is large enough
to receive a carrousel assembly 60 for supporting a plurality of
multi-compartment containers 62. A dispensing mechanism 64 is
mounted on the internal back wall in the freezer space for
selectively dispensing food product from each compartment of each
container as described in greater detail hereinafter. The freezer
housing is provided with an side section above the loading station
24, the side section containing a discharge chute 66 (seen in FIG.
1 and in phantom in FIG. 9). A door 68 is provided at the bottom of
the chute 66 and, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, is
adapted to open just prior to the dispensing of product into basket
32a below, and to close immediately thereafter in order to minimize
the exposure of the interior freezer space to warm moist air as
well as grease and fumes from the frypots 22. Preferably, the
linkage for opening and closing the door 68 allows the door to open
and close very quickly. In the preferred embodiment, the linkage is
a "scotch yoke" assembly although other arrangements will be
obvious to those skilled in the art. The opening and closing of the
door 68 can be controlled, for example, by a reversible motor drive
70 shown in FIG. 9.
The carrousel or conveyor assembly 60, shown in full rear view in
FIG. 2, includes a base 70 suitably supported on wheels 72 so that
the carrousel assembly can be easily rolled into and out of the
freezer space 54. The carrousel assembly 60 includes suitable means
(not shown) for correctly positioning and locking the carrousel
assembly in the freezer space relative to the dispensing mechanism
54.
The carrousel assembly 60 includes a pair of chain drives 74
adapted to move on gears 76 (the bottom gears being shown in FIG. 2
while one of the upper gears is generally indicated in FIG. 9) and
is driven by a motor (shown generally at 78 in FIG. 9). The chain
drives 74, gears 76 and motor 78 are all supported on a pair of
parallel support assemblies 80 extending vertically from the base
70. A plurality of support shelves 82 for respectively supporting
the containers 62 are mounted on the chain drives 74 so that the
shelves remain generally equally spaced along the chains and
substantially in planes parallel to one another. The motor 78 is
preferably a motor for driving the chain at a constant speed and so
that the chain drives 74 and supported containers 62 can be indexed
through the dispensing location and precisely stopped when the
desired container is positioned in the dispensing location within
the dispensing mechanism 64, as described in greater detail
hereinafter. The carrousel assembly is thus adapted to move each
container 62 in a circuitous path from a waist-high loading
location where each container 62 can be easily filled with food
product and mounted in an upright orientation onto a support shelf
82, as indicated by the container 62a in FIG. 1, moved up the front
side (as seen in FIG. 1 ) of the carrousel assembly and over the
top (as best seen in FIG. 9) where the container inverts as it
moves into the dispensing location, as indicated by the container
62b in FIG. 9 near the top of the carrousel assembly. The container
then can be moved from the dispensing location down the back side
of the carrousel assembly through the base 70 and around the bottom
of the chain drives to the front of the carrousel assembly so as to
right the orientation of each container so that each container is
in an upright orientation when it reaches the loading location. It
should be appreciated that while the direction of movement of the
containers in the carrousel assembly is described in one direction,
the containers can be moved in the opposite direction. Thus, in an
alternative arrangement, the carrousel assembly can be adapted and
operated so that container 62a in FIG. 1 is moved down the front
side of the carrousel assembly, around the bottom of the chain
drives to the back side of the carrousel assembly, and thence up
the back side in the inverted position to the dispensing location.
From the dispensing location, the container can then be moved over
the top of the chain drives and down the front side of the
carrousel assembly to return the container to the loading location.
In still another arrangement the carrousel assembly can be adapted
and selectively operated in both directions so that the food
containers can be moved into the dispensing location from either
above or below.
Referring to FIG. 3, the preferred container is shown in
perspective. Each container is preferably identical in size and
construction and is preferably made of a hard, scratch resistant
plastic, such as an acrylic, capable of withstanding repetitive
temperature cycling due to the fact that each container is
continually taken out of and put back into the freezer every time
the containers need to be reloaded with food product.
Alternatively, each container can be made of an inexpensive
disposable material, such as polyethylene terephthalate so that
food products can be prepackaged and used in carrousel assembly and
the packaging thrown away after use. Each container 62 includes at
least one and preferably includes a plurality of separate
compartments 90. Each compartment is sized to contain a
predetermined amount of food product which is considered optimum
for frying in a basket 32 in a frypot 22. For example, french fried
potatoes are preferably cooked in batches of one and one-half
pounds for best results. The compartments are actually formed with
spaces therebetween so as to form a slot 92 between adjacent
compartments. Each compartment is completely closed except for one
open end 94. All of the open ends 94 of a container are disposed
within a common plane defining the top of the container as seen in
FIG. 3, when the container is in its upright position. Each
container 62 is provided with back and front lips 96a and side lips
96b around the circumference of the top of the container so that
the container can be slidably mounted on any one of the shelves 82,
as described below.
Each support shelf 82 includes a two track assembly so that the
containers can be mounted onto a shelf by sliding a container from
the front of the freezer space toward the back of the freezer space
as best seen in FIG. 1, while the container, once mounted on a
support shelf can be laterally moved in the dispensing location
from the left side of the freezer (as seen in FIG. 1) to a position
just above the discharge chute 66. Referring to FIG. 4-7, each
support shelf 82 includes a support plate 100 supported by a pair
of support gussets 102 suitably attached to the bottom surface of
the plate as seen in FIG. 7. The gussets 102 are positioned so that
they will be disposed in the slots 92 (as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4) of
the adjacent container supported by the shelf below (as seen in
FIG. 7) so as to laterally lock each container in its retracted
position when it is not in the dispensing location. In addition,
for reasons which will appear hereinafter, the support plate 100 is
provided with a rear flange 108 proximal the carrousel assembly,
extending below the plane of the plate as seen in FIG. 5, the rear
flange being provided with locking tab 106 extending from the side
of the flange. The opposite sides of the support plate 100 are
provided with a pair of parallel guide rails 104 extending up from
and preferably integrally formed with the plate 100 as best seen in
FIG. 7. These guide rails are oriented parallel to the direction of
lateral movement of the supported container when the latter is
moved at the dispensing location.
A support frame 110 is adapted to be supported and slide in the
guide rails 104 along the top surface (as seen in FIG. 7) of plate
100. The support frame, shown in detail in FIGS. 4-7, is
essentially a flat rectangular frame so as to easily slide in the
guide rails 104, and includes a second pair of parallel guide rails
114 extending up (as seen in FIGS. 4-7) from and preferably formed
as a part of the frame. The spacing between the second pair of
guide rails 112 is such that parallel side lips 96b of any one of
the containers 90 can be supported by and slide in the second set
of guide rails. The guide rails 112 are oriented in a direction
perpendicular to the direction of the guide rails 104 and are open
at their ends remote from the support assemblies 80 of the
carrousel assembly 60 so that each container can be easily mounted
onto the support shelf by threading the lips 96b into the guide
rails 112 and pushing the container back towards the carrousel
assembly into its position as seen in FIG. 1. It should be
appreciated that when mounting the container onto the support
shelf, the container is upright and the support frame 110 and the
second set of guide rails 112 will be provided below the support
plate 100. Suitable locking means, as for example a spring loaded
locking pin assembly 112 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, can be used to
lock the container to the respective Support frame 110.
The frame 110 includes a plurality of openings 120 separated by
spacing bars 122 adapted to respectively coincide with the openings
94 and spacings therebetween of a container 62 properly secured in
the frame. A plurality of trap doors 124 (as seen in FIGS. 4-6) are
supported on respective hinges by the frame for the respective
openings 120. The doors are hinged so that when the container,
supported in the frame 110, is inverted, and moved in the guide
rails 104 by the dispensing mechanism from a totally retracted
position wherein all of the trap doors are forced closed by the
support plate 100 (as best shown in FIG. 5) toward an extended
position (as suggested by FIG. 6), each door will pass the side
edge 126 of the support plate 100 and fall open due to gravity.
Similarly, as the container is moved back to its retracted position
each door will interact with the edge 126 and will pivot closed.
The frame 104 further includes a U-shaped extension 128 (seen in
FIGS. 5, 8 and 10), the front and back edges of which remain in the
guide rails 110 when the supported container is moved to the fully
extended position resulting in the container being cantilevered
over the discharge chute 66 when in this position. The center
portion of the extension 128 is open to allow each container in its
retracted position and supported on a respective support shelf 82
to move easily through the dispensing mechanism 64, as will be more
evident hereinafter.
After being secured on the respective support shelves at the
loading location, the containers will move in sequence through the
dispensing location where the individual compartments 90 can be
sequentially emptied. In order to stabilize the container and
insure that it is precisely positioned in the dispensing location,
a guide block 130 (seen in FIGS. 9 and 14) is provided on the side
of the support assembly so as to receive the locking tab 106 of
each support plate 100 as the support plate 100 moves into the
dispensing location. As will be evident hereinafter, a proximity
sensor 190 (seen in FIG. 14) can be provided for sensing when a
container is properly positioned in the dispensing location.
The dispensing mechanism 64 is supported on the rear wall of the
freezer space 54 and is adapted to move a container 62b properly
disposed in the dispensing location among (a) a retracted position
where the container is positioned on the respective support shelf
82 so that all of the trap doors 124 of the container are closed
over the openings 120 adjacent the support plate 100 so as to seal
each compartment, as shown in FIG. 5, (b) successive intermediate
positions where the support frame 110 moves in the guide rails 104
so that the trap doors 124 are moved beyond the edge 126 and
successively fall open (three being shown open in FIG. 6), wherein
the contents of the corresponding compartments 90 of the container
are successively emptied by falling through the openings 94 and 120
and into the discharge chute 66, and (c) a fully extended position
where the frame 110 moves in the guide rails 104 so that all of the
doors 124 are moved beyond the edge 126 and are thus opened and the
contents of the corresponding compartments emptied into the
dispensing chute 66.
More specifically, the dispensing mechanism 64 is shown in greater
detail in FIGS. 10 and 11. The dispensing mechanism includes a
guide rail 140 secured to the back wall of the freezer space 54.
The guide rail 140 includes a pair of parallel ways 142 disposed
parallel to the ground. A reversible motor 146 connected to drive a
pinion gear 148 is mounted on the guide rail 140. A block 144 is
secured within and adapted to slide relative to the ways 142. A
rack gear 150 is secured to the block 144 and interacts with the
pinion gear 148 so that energization of the motor 146 in one
direction moves the block in the guide ways 142 in one lateral
direction, and energization of the motor in the opposite direction
moves the block in the opposite lateral direction.
An extension arm 160, for pushing a container in the dispensing
location from the retracted position through the intermediate
positions to the fully extended position, is secured to one end of
the block 144 so that it will come into contact with the side of
the container remote from the discharge chute 66 when the block is
moved in the direction toward the chute. Similarly, a retraction
arm 162, for pushing the container in the dispensing location from
a partially or fully extended position through the intermediate
positions to the retracted position is provided on the opposite end
of the block 144 so that it will come into contact with the side of
the container proximate to the chute when the block is moved in a
direction away from the chute. Arms 160 and 162 are formed and
spaced relative to one another so that when the block 144 is in the
home position, each container 62 and its respective support shelf
82 can easily move between the arms into and out of the dispensing
location with the operation of the carrousel assembly 60.
An indexing and control system is provided in order to (1)
determine which container 62 is positioned in the dispensing
location, and which of the compartments have been emptied, (2)
maintain an inventory account of what remaining food product is
contained in which compartments of which containers, and (3)
control the system so that the appropriate container with a select
product can be moved to the dispensing location upon demand and a
compartment of food product dispensed through the discharge chute
66 to an awaiting basket 32a at the loading station 24. More
specifically, referring to FIGS. 9, 12 and 13, the indexing and
control system includes a container sensing mechanism 170 for
determining which container 62 is positioned in the dispensing
location. In FIGS. 12 and 13, mechanism 170 includes a sprocket
wheel 172 having tabs 174, one for each of the containers, disposed
equiangularly around the axis of the wheel. A proximity sensor 176
is secured to the support assembly 80 for sensing the proximity of
a tab 174 when a tab is position at the sensor location. The wheel
172 is rotatably mounted on the support assembly 80 of the
carrousel assembly 60 and is coupled through a gear reduction
mechanism 178 to the upper gear 76 so that as each successive
container is correctly position at the dispensing location, a
corresponding successive tab comes into close enough proximity to
the sensor 176 so as to be detected. In addition, a reference tab
180 is secured to and rotates with the wheel 172 for defining a
home position for the containers in the carrousel assembly, i.e.,
arbitrarily defining the ordering of the successive containers.
Thus, as each container moves into the dispensing location a tab
174 moves into the proximity of the sensor 176 and can be uniquely
identified and distinguished from the other containers.
In addition, a proximity sensor 190 is mounted on the guide block
130 so as to sense the proximity of tab 108, as seen in FIG. 14, so
as to detect when a container is correctly positioned within the
dispensing location.
In order to sense the position of the container in the dispensing
location with respect to the retracted, intermediate and extended
lateral positions, as shown in FIG. 11, means, in form of a plate
200, defines four tabs 204, 206, 208 and 210 for sensing the four
intermediate positions where the respective traps doors 124 are
opened. In addition, a plate 212 includes a first home tab 214 for
sensing the home position when the retraction arm 162 moves the
container to the retracted position (and the extension arm 160 is
spaced from the container). A proximity sensor 218 senses each of
the tabs 204, 206, 208, 210 and 214 as each tab is moved into
proximity of the sensor. A separate plate defining a second home
tab 216 is provided for sensing the home position when the
extension arm moves into contact with the container, while the
latter is in the retracted position at the dispensing location. A
separate sensor 220 is provided for sensing the home tab 216 when
the latter moves into proximity of that sensor. In should be
appreciated that two separate home position tabs 214 and 216 are
provided since the arms 160 and 162 are spaced apart by a larger
distance than the width of each container and support.
The plates defining tabs 204, 206, 208 210 214 and 216 are all
secured to and move with the block 144, while the sensors 218 and
220 are secured to the guide rail 140. When a container 62b is
first positioned in the dispensing location, the motor 146 can be
energized so as to move the block 144. As the block moves tab 214
into proximity of the sensor 218 the motor 146 is de-energized.
This indicates that the extension arm 160 is now in contact with
the container. When food product is to be dispensed from the first
compartment, the motor is energized so that the block 144 moves
until the tab 210 comes into proximity of the sensor 218. This will
be at a position where the first trap door 124 will open and food
product dispensed down the discharge chute 66. The process can be
repeated for each successive compartment, wherein each successive
tab 208, 206 and 204 moves into proximity with the sensor 218 as
successive compartments are emptied. Once the last compartment has
been emptied, the motor 146 is reversed, and the container returned
to the retracted position wherein the block 144 is moved in a
reversed direction until the tab 216 is sensed by the proximity
detector 220. This will correspond to the container being in the
totally retracted position, with the arm 160 spaced from the
container so that the next container can be moved into the
dispensing location.
It should be appreciated that with the proper control system the
system can be informed of the contents of each compartment of each
container so that the containers can contain one or more food
products, such as french fries, chicken, etc. When it is desirable
to cook a particular food product the appropriate container can be
moved into the dispensing location. The only restriction would be
that if compartments of the same container contain different food
products, one could not dispense .food product from one compartment
where it would be necessary to have other compartments of the
container, which contains different food product open first before
reaching the appropriate compartment. Thus, if the first and second
compartments to open contain french fries, and the third and fourth
compartments contain chicken, it would be necessary to have already
properly dispensed the french fries from compartments one and two,
before one could reliably dispense chicken from compartments three
and four. Subject to this restriction, the control system could
operate so that not all of the compartments of a container need to
be emptied before another container is moved into the dispensing
location.
Thus, referring to FIG. 15, a master control 230 (which can be a
part of the control system for controlling the fryer system 20 as
described in the Prior Applications) is provided for controlling
the storage and dispensing of food product. The control 230 can be
provided data from data input 232, which can be a keyboard, or like
device. The control 230 is suitably connected to receive signals
from the sensors 34, 176, 182, 190, 218 and 220, and to provide the
proper energization signals to motors 70, 78 and 146. With respect
to the motors 70 and 146, since each of the latter can be operated
in one of two directions to respectively open and close the door 68
and move a container to and from the home position, when the
control 230 energizes each of these motors it also indicates the
direction of energization.
In operation, as seen in FIG. 1, the operator of the system fills
each compartment of each container 62 with a predetermined amount
of the appropriate food product and loads the container in an
upright orientation onto a support shelf 82 at the loading
location. The carrousel assembly 60 can remain in the freezer space
and the containers loaded with the door 56 open. Alternatively, the
carrousel assembly can be removed from the freezer space and the
loaded with the filled containers. The specific position of each
container on the carrousel assembly and the contents of each
compartment is entered through the data input 232 into the control
230. Control 230 can be provided with suitable memory for storing
the data. The control can also update the memory each time a
compartment is emptied so that an inventory of what food product is
contained in the remaining compartments of the containers, and
where those containers are located at any one time relative to the
dispensing location can be provided in the memory. Once the
containers are loaded, the door 56 is closed and automatic
dispensing can commence.
When a basket full of a particular food product is desired, the
demand can be created either by the operator placing an order
through the data input 232, or automatically provided as a part of
a histographic analysis of food demand at the particular
establishment where the system is installed. With the demand made,
the control 230 indicates which container is to be selected, and
the motor 76 is energized if the container chosen is not already in
the dispensing location. As the chosen container 64 arrives at the
dispensing location as determined by the sensors 176 and 182, the
corresponding guide tab 108 moves into the guide block 130 until
the sensor 190 senses the proper positioning of the container. It
should be appreciated that all of the containers, with the
exception of the container in the dispensing location, will be
locked in the retracted position and restrained from lateral
movement because the gussets 102 of the adjoining support shelf 100
will be disposed in the corresponding bottom slots 92. As seen from
FIG. 8, the container moves into the dispensing position after it
is rotated about the top of the carrousel assembly so as to invert
the container and so as to disengage it from the gussets of the
adjacent support shelf 100. With the appropriate container in
place, the first compartment full of food product is ready to be
dispensed through the discharge chute 66. The system will not
dispense food, however, until the sensor 34 indicates that the
basket 32a is in its proper position at the loading station 24
below the door 68. Once control 230 receives an indication from
sensor 34 and sensor 190 that the appropriate food product is ready
to be dispensed, the motor 146 is operated in the direction so as
to advance the container so that the next full compartment is
emptied, by gravity, through the chute 66. The appropriate
compartment is sensed by the sensor 218 as it counts the
appropriate number of tabs 204, 206, 208 and 210 corresponding to
the compartment of the container to be emptied. At the same time
the motor 70 is operated to open the door 68 to allow the food
product to fall from the chute to the waiting basket 32a. Once the
compartment is emptied, the inventory in the memory of control 230
is updated, and operation can continue.
The apparatus and method of the present invention thus described
provide a novel method of and apparatus for storing and
automatically dispensing portions of a frozen food product in
conjunction with the operation of an automated deep fat fryer
system, and that meet modern health and sanitation requirements by
keeping the containers completely closed until the food is
dispensed. The method and apparatus also provide a novel way of
storing and automatically dispensing as needed preselected portions
of a plurality of different frozen food products. The freezer
system has a minimum of moving parts, a majority of which can be
made for example of stainless steel or suitable plastic material
such as the plastic manufactured and sold under the trademark
"Delrin", with easily accessible interior regions and operating
mechanisms for ease of reloading the food compartments and for
cleaning the apparatus. The present system thus minimizes or at
least substantially reduces the labor costs associated with deep
fat cooking operations, especially in a fast-food restaurant. The
system helps to provide a higher quality fried food product by
means of superior storage, dispensing and handling of the food
product. By allowing data to be entered through the data input 232,
the control is capable of operating with the automated, integrated
frying system, based on point of sales information and daily
business cycles.
Since certain changes may be made in the above process and
apparatus without departing from the scope of the present invention
herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the
above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be
interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
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